Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 202 – Breaking Through to Nascent Soul

Stepping back a moment in time.

When Yun Xueqing was sighing in sorrow, the tribulation clouds that formed above Snowfall City suddenly contracted. Because the thunder was too dazzling in contrast to how dark the night was, no one noticed this. But, the next scene was hard for anyone to not notice.

From those tribulation clouds high above, that third strike of tribulation thunder which carried with it an aura that seemed as if it could destroy anything, suddenly slowed down. This scene was like space itself had become a swamp. As the thunder fell further, it became increasingly slow. Then, beneath the gaze of all those present, it froze in midair.

Yes, it had stopped!

No one had ever witnessed such a scene nor had anyone ever heard of something similar in legends or fables. This was tribulation thunder, so why would it ever stop as it was falling?

At this moment, within the hearts of countless cultivators, it was like billions of wild god beasts were galloping through the grasslands. Their thoughts were in chaos and their minds were blank.

Hey, could someone tell them just what was going on?

But following that, they would discover that heavenly tribulation coming to a stop wasn’t the end; it could also retract! Thus, everyone understood that it wasn’t that the void had turned into a swamp, forcing the heavenly tribulation to come to a stop. Rather, in those black tribulation clouds high in the sky, some sort of terrifying strength had appeared that was forcibly holding it back.

Everything was silent. Every cultivator in Snowfall City watched with wide eyes. They could only watch as that tribulation thunder seemed to be grabbed onto by some invisible hand and was being slowly pulled back.

The speed was extremely slow at first. Many cultivators rubbed their eyes, thinking that what they saw was an illusion. But even when they rubbed their eyes until they were red and teary, they discovered that everything they saw was real! This was because the tribulation thunder was being pulled back at an increasingly fast pace, until with a sharp sound it was sucked back into the tribulation cloud.

In that pitch black darkness, all they could see were tumbling tribulation clouds. But, they had no idea what was happening inside.

And it was at this moment that someone inadvertently discovered something else happening. That person lifted a shivering finger and said, “Look...look...the tribulation clouds are shrinking...”

The sharp cry immediately caught everyone’s attention. Countless people looked over and their hearts shrank with it.

It was actually...shrinking...

Holy shit, what was going on!?

Someone thought back to that beam of red light which hadn’t gotten much attention because it had plunged into the tribulation clouds so quickly. If the change in the heavenly tribulation and tribulation clouds wasn’t related to that red light, they wouldn’t believe it even if they died.

Shock rose up in the hearts of everyone. Their eyes widened as they tried to find that figure. The legacy of cultivator civilization had been inherited downwards for countless generations, but through all this time it had always been heavenly tribulation cutting down on cultivators; since when had it ever been like this, where that heavenly tribulation was ‘cleaned up’ by a cultivator instead? They wanted to know just who was this fierce character that had accomplished this. And more importantly, how had he done this!?

But at this time, another change occurred.

Bang –

A powerful aura appeared. In the perception of the cultivators, it was like a sun sparkling with endless light, so bright that it blinded the eyes. Everyone turned their eyes and saw Yun Fan, his robes still swirling around him. At this time, his mouth had fallen open subconsciously and his eyes seemed pinned somewhere else.

He...had broken through...

Did this even count!?

The image from just before had been too terrifying, causing everyone to momentarily forget that Yun Fan was crossing his Nascent Soul heavenly tribulation. Now, the third strike of heavenly tribulation had already vanished. The tribulation cloud seemed as if it were being eaten up as it was constantly shrinking in size.

The consequence of this was that Yun Fan...had broken through.

Within his dantian sea, his cracked Golden Core had become a Nascent Soul. It drew a massive amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy into his body. Right now, he was a genuine Nascent Soul cultivator.

Countless cultivators groaned inwardly, feeling that their outlook on life had been destroyed in that instant. Wasn’t it agreed that tribulation could only be crossed by oneself? Wasn’t it agreed that tribulation couldn’t be luckily crossed?

Everything that was passed down was – nonsense!

The Yun Family fell silent for a brief moment. Then, earth-shaking cheers spread out, as if all of them had been saved from the precipice of death. Many people began to cry copiously.

Their Patriarch had made a breakthrough and become a Nascent Soul cultivator. No matter how it was he had broken through, this was still a fact!

The Yun Family had a Nascent Soul cultivator...this was so wonderful it was like a dream!

Yun Xueqing sobbed with joy. But, her eyes still glanced towards the shrinking tribulation cloud. As she thought back to that familiar form, her heartbeat began to quicken.

It really was him!

But, this was Nascent Soul heavenly tribulation. How had he managed to accomplish this?

In the restaurant, the young cultivator paled, disbelief in his eyes.

Yun Fan had become a Nascent Soul. He had actually become a Nascent Soul!

“Young master, we must leave!” A subordinate anxiously said.

As they thought about how they had been forcing the Yun Family into a corner these past days, many of them began to drip with a cold sweat, their faces pale.

All of them nodded in agreement.

There was no time for idle chat. If they didn’t leave now, once the Yun Family regained their bearing, they wouldn’t even be able to leave anymore.

A struggling light flashed in the young cultivator’s eyes. “I definitely believe that uncle will be interested in that cultivator who broke into the tribulation cloud.”

Everyone understood his meaning. Their complexions changed and one of them said, “Young master is truly considerate. But, we have our people within the Yun Family, and since the cultivator rescued Yun Fan, there must be some connection between them. We do not have to take any risks to obtain the necessary information.”

The youth no longer wavered. “Alright, let’s go!”

The group quickly left, fleeing Snowfall City like a pack of stray dogs.

Yun Fan frowned. He looked in the direction the young cultivator ran off to and a trace of killing intent flashed in his eyes. However, for some unknown reason, he hesitated and didn’t make a move. He looked up towards the tribulation cloud and his gaze became earnest. He had clearly looked within that blood red ray of light and saw that there really was a cultivator within. The reason he had managed to smoothly cross tribulation was absolutely because of that person. The sentiment he owed this person was greater than the heavens; he really had no idea how he could pay them back.

And as he was thinking about it, that tribulation cloud which was less than half its original size began to shrink at an increasingly fast pace. It was like it was being suddenly swallowed up, and then it vanished in several blinks of an eye. No one could clearly see what it was that was swallowing the tribulation cloud, because it was being held in a hand.

Qin Yu’s figure was exposed in plain view of countless eyes. Many cultivators widened their eyes. They never expected that the person who appeared would be such a young cultivator.

Yun Xueqing covered her mouth. Her face lit up with excitement. It was him, it was really him!

Yun Fan already recognized this person. It was the cultivator who had been chased out from the Yun Family in the past – Qin Yu, yes, that was his name. He was originally thinking about how he could use this chance to establish good relations with such a formidable character, but now all there was left over was awkwardness.

But no matter how awkward he felt, at this time he could only brace himself for what was to come. He approached Qin Yu and cupped his hands together, bowing, “Fellow daoist Qin Yu, I am deeply grateful to you for today’s events!”

Without mentioning anything of the past, he would first thank Qin Yu for today. At least, this appeared slightly better.

Qin Yu smiled and cupped his hands together. “Congratulations, Patriarch Yun!”

Seeing his warm and moderate attitude that didn’t have any dissatisfaction from what happened before, Yun Fan was overjoyed. He hurriedly said, “The last time when fellow daoist Qin Yu came and left in such a hurry, my Yun Family was unable to be a good host; it was truly disrespectful. This time, fellow daoist must stay here for a period of time so that I and my Yun Family can express our thanks.”

This was both a vague and sincere way of expressing apologies towards Qin Yu, as well as an earnest invitation. As long as Qin Yu stepped into their Yun Family today, then another hidden figure would appear behind them. Before people could figure out just who this person was and how deep his depths were, they would surely feel dread.

Of course, there was also a wholehearted and genuine desire to express thanks. To become a Nascent Soul, no matter what sort of favor needed to be repaid, it was well worth the cost!

Qin Yu thought for a moment and nodded. “Then, I’ll have to bother you.”

Yun Fan laughed out loud. “Open the doors and prepare a banquet. We are welcoming fellow daoist Qin Yu!”

The Yun Family instantly became lively. Qin Yu joined together with them, smiling and laughing.

The reason he smiled was because after the little blue lamp ate up almost the entire tribulation cloud, it emitted a faintly unstable aura.

Perhaps it might recover soon.

As for why he didn’t conceal himself and leave, Qin Yu’s reasoning was like this.

Since he had been exposed, he was bound to cause some trouble. And there was no one who wouldn’t want a treasure that could swallow heavenly tribulation. But as the true function of the little blue lamp wasn’t discovered, the scope of potential should be manageable. After all, Qin Yu was no longer the little weak cultivator that he used to be, and he also had a powerful magic weapon in the Storm Flow set formed by the three swamp alligators, which gave him an even deeper confidence.

As for the advantage of staying here, once everyone learned that he could help cultivators smoothly cross tribulation, then he wouldn’t need to spend so much time and effort looking for them. These cultivators would instead come and visit on their own initiative, and at that time the little blue lamp would have all the heavenly tribulation it wanted.

In order to restore the little blue lamp, Qin Yu chose to take a risk.

The Yun Family celebrated like a festival. Everyone in the family was drunk with joy as the party began.

Qin Yu sat in the seat of honor, sometimes speaking with Yun Fan and sometimes accepting the awed looks from the Yun Family cultivators around him.

This was because not only had he helped Yun Fan cross tribulations, but his actions were equal to rescuing the entire Yun Family!

Yun Yi and the other Yun Family elders that had ‘welcomed’ Qin Yu before, had already walked over in shame and embarrassment and proposed a toast. Qin Yu smiled in return, indicating that he didn’t care about what happened in the past.

The several elders praised Qin Yu for being so broadminded and wise, their flattery so loud that it shook the heavens. Yun Fan felt it was a bit too gaudy, so they retreated when he coughed.

“Fellow daoist Qin Yu, you must find this laughable.” Yun Fan smiled. “Helping me cross tribulation today is a favor that can’t be returned with just some words of thanks. I must express my heartfelt sentiment, so I hope that fellow daoist Qin Yu can give my Yun Family a chance for us to do so. Unfortunately, that ice-attribute spiritual object was destroyed during tribulation, otherwise I would have given it to you.”

Qin Yu smiled. “I am friends with Yun Xueqing, so it's reasonable for us to help each other. Moreover, Patriarch Yun should have already realized that heavenly tribulation does have some uses for me.” He raised the subject himself, not hiding anything. In any case, this was something easy to guess, so he might as well acknowledge it here.

Yun Fan’s heart shook. He looked at Qin Yu. Since Qin Yu dared state this out loud, then he must have the ability to protect himself. Currently, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator, but when he looked at Qin Yu it was still like looking at fog-covered mountains; he couldn’t sense his depths at all. However, if this young fellow dared to swallow heavenly tribulation, then even idiots could tell that he was incomparably fierce!

His thoughts raced. If Qin Yu spoke up on his own initiative and was also willing to stay in the Yun Family...Yun Fan could faintly guess what he wanted. So he probingly said, “In the cultivator world there are a small number of Nascent Souls, so each time one is born, it is an extraordinary event. I can use this chance to hold a grand celebration. I’m sure that influences throughout the Southern Empire and Northern Dynasty will come to participate. I wonder if fellow daoist Qin Yu has any interest in this?”

Qin Yu praised Yun Fan inwardly. He was indeed a smart person. Qin Yu didn’t even need to say anything for this person to know exactly what he desired. Since he stayed in the Yun Family, this was what he wanted. And with a living advertisement like Yun Fan, when various influences from the Southern Empire and Northern Dynasty gathered together, it would be the best chance for him.

You want to cross tribulation and reach Nascent Soul? Then come on!

So, he cupped his hands and smiled. “I thank you for the hospitality!”